Ministers will prioritise the East Coast line deal, BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott says.
So they go and privatise the only successful publicly owned franchise, the East Coast line.
But wouldn't it be better to judge any investment on the East Coast line by its own merits?
The upgrade of the east coast line is scheduled for completion by 2010.
If there is a cost-overrun on the West Coast line, investment in the East Coast line will be cut, as the profits won't be there to pay for it.
"In total there will be over 11, 000 more peak time seats each day on the Great Western Main Line and East Coast Main Line, " he said.
East Coast Main Line is operating a revised timetable due to the adverse weather.
BBC: Snow and ice leads to travel delays and school closures
Elsewhere in the country 10 train services between London and Leeds on the East Coast Main Line were cancelled.
BBC: Schools and airports closed after heavy snow in England
Three months ago thousands of East Coast main line passengers had their journeys disrupted by a power failure at Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire.
Two cracks discovered on the East Coast Main Line are being investigated by independent safety experts at the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB).
The project is the largest of its type in the UK and GNER's biggest single investment since it started running services on the East Coast Main Line.
In a trading statement, the company said that the "challenging economic environment" meant it was seeing fewer passengers on the East Coast main line and "significant" levels of people downgrading from first-class and full fares.
Obviously it does have implications for the line itself, whether they are going to continue to run it through Virgin, whether they are going to run it themselves as they are doing with the East Coast Main Line.
But one line is still running to time: the East coast mainline which runs through Peterborough and Stevenage, will be re-privatised with a new franchise that will start in 2015.
Increased claims and expenses due to the devastation caused by superstorm Sandy along the east coast of the U.S. are expected to affect the top line for the quarter.
"On the east coast, you can find the still-active Arenal volcano where you can zip line next to it through the jungle canopy as it puffs gaseous steam and molten lava, " Amerson said.
The west- and east-coast main lines between London and Scotland are to be improved, as is the line between London and south Wales.
But for hardcore Bush-watchers among the White House press corps, ever on the alert for a "Bushism", the line that stole the show was his reference to the revered New Yorker, as "some East Coast magazine".
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